Traffic inspector who wrote inflammatory poem says sorry

The January issue of Mumbai Police monthly bulletin Samwaad has carried an apology by Sujata Patil, a traffic police inspector who wrote a controversial poem on the Azad Maidan riots in an earlier issue sparking outrage.

In the poem, Patil called those who desecrated Amar Jawan Jyoti last August "traitors" and "snakes", and suggested they be shot and their hands chopped.

Her apology in the Samwaad issue released Tuesday reads: "My poem was about crime against women. I have written my feelings about atrocities against women. My intention was not to hurt anyone's religious sentiment. For this, I apologise."

Two people were killed and 63 injured when a protest at Azad Maidan against alleged atrocities on Muslims in Assam and Myanmar turned violent.

Police arrested 63 persons, of whom five were discharged and one sent to Juvenile Justice Board.

The accused were also booked for molestation after women police personnel on duty complained they were manhandled by the rioters.

The bulletin also carried a clarification by joint commissioner of police (administration) Hemant Nagrale, who is editor of Samwaad. It says Patil's poem was not aimed at hurting anyone's religious sentiments and that she has tendered an apology.

"I agree with it (Patil's apology)," Nagarale says. Patil posted at Matunga traffic police chowkie had written the poem, 'Azad Maidan' in the November edition of Samwaad.

After it sparked outrage, Mumbai Police initiated an inquiry to find how the inflammatory poem was published. Commissioner Satyapal Singh supervised the inquiry.

Samwaad is circulated among police stations and police units in the city and usually carries literary pieces as well as writeups and photographs on achievements of policemen and their family members. The bulletin also carries write-ups on the best detection of the month and developments in several current issues in city police.

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